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The Virginia Cavaliers (11-1) are set to face off against in-state rival Virginia Tech (11-2) on Wednesday at 2 PM on the ACC Network, serving as the conference opener for both teams. This New Year’s Eve matchup will be the first of two between the Hokies and ‘Hoos, with the latter coming in March at John Paul Jones Arena.
This contest in Blacksburg is set to be a good one with Mike Young expecting a return from one of, if not both, his best players who have missed some time this year. Neoklis Avdalas, the freshman standout from Greece, will be back in the lineup on Wednesday after missing their most recent game versus Elon. Avdalas averages 14.5 points per game and shoots 37% from behind the arc. Tobi Lawal appears to be a game-day decision for the Hokies, and if he is given the green light for this matchup, he will certaintly be a problem for the ‘Hoos. Lawal is a freak athlete and does it all for Virignia Tech, averaging 12.8 points per game and leading the team in rebounds with 10.3 per game.
Virginia Tech will be missing Tyler Johnson in this one after he hurt his foot in the final minutes against Elon. Johnson is a solid sophomore guard who is averaging 9.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game for the Hokies and is one of their better perimeter defenders. Virginia, on the other hand, will be without one of their stars, Jacari White, as he is still nursing a wrist injury. This will be the second game in a row that White will sit out due to his injury.
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This will be a quadrant one opportunity for both squads as Virignia currently sits at #24 in the NCAA NET rankings, which falls under the #1-30 home category for the Hokies, and Virignia Tech sits at #63, which falls under the #1-75 away category for the “Hoos.
2 Matchups
TDR vs. Neo
It’s not just the two teams as a whole with bragging rights on the line; Thijs De Ridder and Neoklis Avdalas were two of the top international pick-ups this offseason, and both have lived up to the hype so far this season. We…
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Publish date : 2025-12-31 12:22:00
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